P3 power rate hike takes effect

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Starting this month, the Panay Electric Company (PECO) will implement a P3 per kilowatt-hour increase in its generation charge.

This means that the present P7.50/kWh rate will go up to P10.50/kWh, which the consumers will see once they receive their billing for this month. For example, a household that consumes 100-kW a month and pays P750 under the old rate, it will now pay as high as P1,050 due to the P3 increase.

Engr. Randy Pastolero, PECO's assistant vice president for operations, said the amount of the increase is almost half of the original rate but he has been explaining and informing the public since two months ago about the matter.

Pastolero however clarified it is not PECO that asked for the increase but the Panay Energy Development Corporation, which petitioned the Energy Regulations Commission to allow it to raise its generation rates. "The amount is not for us. Whatever is approved by the ERC, we only collect for PEDC because we have a power purchase agreement with it," he said.

The increase will be implemented to cover the costs of coal PEDC used to produce electricity that it supplies to PECO. Presently, PECO gets 65 megaWatts of its power supply from PEDC and 15 mW from private power corporations. PECO has a total demand of 85 mW during peak time.

"Our P10.50 per kilowatt-hour rate is still lower than the other power distributors here like the cooperatives that charge their customers P11 or P12 per kWh," Pastolero told The FREEMAN in a phone interview.

He said the current rate of electricity here is the same with April's or before they reduced their rates middle of this year. When they lowered their electricity rate in June, they gave notices and warning to public that "it was just a temporary thing," he said.

Earlier, consumer group Freedom from Debt Coalition expressed opposition against all applications for power rate hike and even held a National Day of Protest Against Power Rate Hike. FDC chairperson Ted Aldwin Ong expressed dismay over the new development but said the matter is already a done deal and was approved last August.

Power rates here are also expected to increase again once the ERC approved the application of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to acquire the sub-transmission assets of PEDC for P620 million.

PEDC operates the 164-mW coal-fired power plant in LaPaz, Iloilo City. Aside from PECO, it also supplies power to other distribution utilities located in the nearby provinces of Antique, Aklan, Guimaras, Capiz and Negros Occidental. - THE FREEMAN